Three Fairies Quest

[Tapsa]

>"Yes! Keep her away!"

>"Wait, that one?", says Star, shuddering. "The one with blond hair and a real fancy dress?"
>Reimu nods. "Yes, that's her. I think she's the one who 'gifted' that thing last night."
>"Okay! I agree! Keep her away!" Star leans back and thrusts her palms forward, like she's shoving something away.
>Reimu sighs. "Doesn't sound like she's left a good impression on you."
>"Well yeah, maybe if she stops being so creepy and didn't shoot us this one time, we'd like her way more!", Star says.
>"Actually, that's fine. You don't need to like her. I know I don't like her too much." Reimu pauses to sit down by the kotatsu. "But yeah, like I said, I think she's fooling around again. And I've got this feeling she's gonna pop in to bother me if I don't take an interest in that thing fast. That's why I'm not waiting on Suika or Marisa here. You've gotta do the job."
>Reimu braces her elbows against the kotatsu again, but this time, she lacks poise. Her head, clamped by her hands, slouches over the kotatsu. With her face parallel with the tabletop, she exhales a frustrated pppffftttt.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"You okay?"

[Tapsa]

>"You okay?"

>"I wasn't this tired when I went out to get you...", says Reimu, "But I still don't think I'm sick. Or cursed."
>"By the way, back there at the tree before you got out. Why'd you ask if I had a, er... chopper?", Reimu says while continuing to slump over the kotatsu.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Because we didn't want you to chop us up with it!"

[Tapsa]

>"Because we didn't want you to chop us up with it!"

>"Why would I do that.", says Reimu, who's still talking face down to the tabletop.
>"Why wouldn't you? Think like the daimyo you aren't!", Star says.
>"...Daimyo?"
>Reimu slowly picks up her slouching self off the kotatsu to sit in a more proper form.
>"Where the heck did you even get that one from?", Reimu asks and puts on a puzzled look.
>"Well I noticed you doing a ton of daimyo-like things lately. Like going around carrying a fan outside! But now I don't think you're really one.", says Star.
>"And how do you even know what a daimyo is?", Reimu immediately shoots another question at Star.
>"I read a book!"
>Reimu leans in and taps her fingers on the tabletop.
>"Really now... Just what kind of faeries are you..?", Reimu says.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"The Faeries of Light, obviously."

[Tapsa]

>"The Faeries of Light, obviously."

>"No, that's not what I meant.", Reimu shakes head, "I mean, it's kinda hard to believe I'm talking to faeries here. Being literate is already a big thing, but knowing something about history..."

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sounds like you're underestimating faeries! And that's a big migstake!"

Not mispelled.

[Tapsa]

>"Sounds like you're underestimating faeries! And that's a big migstake!"

>"Underestimating? Don't think so. Or do you know a lot of other faeries that can read?", says Reimu.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Probably! I never asked!"

[Tapsa]

>"Probably! I never asked!"

>"That's a pretty big assumption. Do you really think that every pint-sized prankster living out there in the nature is literate because you and your friends can read?"

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"I bet more faeries can read than humans can! And youkai! There's a whole buncha those who can't read, you know!"

[Tapsa]

>"I bet more faeries can read than humans can! And youkai! There's a whole buncha those who can't read, you know!"

>Reimu rolls eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. It's seriously unlikely that most faeries have even seen a single kana or kanji in their whole life."

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's because...uh...you don't know how many faeries there are out there! Yeah! And that's why you shouldn't take us lightly."
>Fold arms. Sage nod.

[nolrai2]

"And nuh-huh! Your post it notes have writing on them and you spray those everywhere!"

[O4rfish]

Reimu Hakurei, beating up fairies and teaching them to read, at the same time.

[Tapsa]

>"That's because...uh...you don't know how many faeries there are out there! Yeah! And that's why you shouldn't take us lightly."
>Fold arms. Sage nod.

>You cross arms and nod sagely after your assertion.
>Reimu frowns, though only slightly more so than she already does with her default expression.
>"You've still got a lot to learn about history if you think superior numbers are what counts in the end.", she says.

"And nuh-huh! Your post it notes have writing on them and you spray those everywhere!"

>Reimu puts on a quizzical look. "Post-it notes? The heck are those?"

>_

[O4rfish]

>"They're red and white and they have black writing on them, and you post them everywhere. Post it notes."

[Tapsa]

>"They're red and white and they have black writing on them, and you post them everywhere. Post it notes."

>"Oh." Reimu puts a hand to her head and sighs. "You're talking about the paper amulets, aren't you."
>She pulls out two rectangular red-white papers about the size of her head from... inside her sleeve?
>"Look carefully and tell me what you see in them.", she says.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine, but not too closely lest she whacks us with it.

[Tapsa]

>Examine, but not too closely lest she whacks us with it.

>You take a closer look at the papers she is holding upright in her hand, but you make sure that you're not leaning in too close, just in case the shrine maiden gets a violent fit.
>One of the paper amulets has a drawing of a red butterfly and sets of evenly spaced black lines and dashes filling rest of the space left on the paper. You're not so sure what to make of the other one, it looks like an unintelligible mesh of tangled scribbles spreading from top to bottom.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Some of your drawings are real weird."

[Tapsa]

>"Some of your drawings are real weird."

>"No wonder you're so grumpy all the time!", Star speaks over your comment, "You gotta draw a ton of those paper things all alone, then fit 'em all in your sleeves somehow, but then you lose most of them in a fight anyway so you gotta make even more. That's a real chore!"
>"No, that's not it. The amulets and charms I use in fights are just danmaku imitations of the real thing.", Reimu says, fanning herself with the paper amulets she's still holding in her hand.
>"Aw... That's lame." Star frowns and hangs her head low. "You're way less cool now."
>"Well, if you want to see me throw real, non-danmaku amulets from now on... I guess I could set up a faerie sweatshop to start mass producing those amulets. You'd be welcome in the workforce.", Reimu says.
>"Sweatshop!?" Star backs away from Reimu. "Ew! I'm not gonna sell sweat to anybody! That's disgusting!"
>"Uh, what?" Reimu blinks. "That's not wh--"
>"No! Go sell sweat on your own!", Star shouts.
>"Nevermind.", Reimu says. She puts a hand to her face and shakes head. After removing her hand from face, she gives a blank stare to the two paper amulets sitting in her other hand.
>"Great. I forgot what I was getting at with showing these two to you.", Reimu sighs, before stuffing the paper amulets back inside her sleeve. She lifts her elbows on top of the kotatsu once again. Her head faces down and slumps low enough for her hair to flow down and touch the tabletop.
>"You two feel like leaving yet? I think I've had my fill of you for today.", Reimu says.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"...Geez, that's mean... Okay, fine..."
>Stand up and schlep out, dejectedly.

[Tapsa]

>"...Geez, that's mean... Okay, fine..."

>"Huh? But... We didn't do anything to you!", says Star.
>"Yeah, you didn't. But I'm seriously too tired for this. Just go.", Reimu says.
>"Fine, we're going...", Star says.

>Stand up and schlep out, dejectedly.

>You exit through the front door in low spirits.
>You stand on the front porch of the Hakurei Shrine. A big rope decorated with paper streamers hangs sideways up in the ceiling, and a donation box sits on the cobblestones right in front of the porch steps. Straight ahead, a cobblestone path with two stone lanterns on each side slices through the front yard, leading under a large, red shrine gate. Even though they can't be seen from here, you know that from underneath the gate begin stone steps as wide as the gate itself, which go all the way down to the foot of the hill which this shrine is built on. Looking left and right, there is forest flanking the shrine grounds.
>"Bleh. She's just trying to save face, right?", Star speaks to you with a quiet voice, minding the fact Reimu is obviously still within an earshot distance.

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"I didn't see anything wrong with her face."
>Proceed down the steps.

[Tapsa]

>"I didn't see anything wrong with her face."
>Proceed down the steps.

>Star shrugs.
>You walk from porch to under the towering shrine gate. Just as you are about to demonstrate your stair skipping skills to Star, she interrupts you.
>"Wait, didn't we forget somebody?"

>_

[O4rfish]

>"We left Luna at home.  Is there someone you detectived hanging around?"

[Tapsa]

>"We left Luna at home.  Is there someone you detectived hanging around?"

>"Ooohh, right, Luna!" Star gives herself a tiny slap in forehead. "How could've we ever forgot about her? And nope! It's still just you, Reimu and hornhead!"

>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"We should probably go get her. She might get lonely or miss out on seeing a neat rock."
>Head homeward.